Pastoral de la Mujer

I realized that I have not blogged about Pastoral de la Mujer and what exactly we do. Pastoral de la Mujer translates as Ministry of the Women, which is a program of the Catholic Church. The objective of Pastoral de la Mujer is to instill self-confidence and values into women. To help them recognize their own worth, and to realize that men and women are all equal. There are 3 women, plus myself who work in the main office in San Marcos. There is Elvia, Eluvia, the coordinator, Judy or Judith, who is a Maryknoll nun from the States, an intern called Veronica, and me. Then we have two members of our team that work solely with our scholarship program in Tajumulco. There is Sister Carmen, and Guatemalan nun who is also a teacher in the high school, and Willhem. Then there is another team who works with all the communities on the Pacific Coast.

We work within each parochial in San Marcos, and within each parochial there are multiple communities. Every month, or every other month, we visit each parochial to give a workshop, and the women travel to the central parochial house or central church. Many of these women walk for up to 5 hours to come to the workshops. I think they like them, but they have also mentioned the workshop is their ¨vacation¨ for the month. The workshops vary depending on the community and their needs and wants. When we enter new communities, or groups we have not worked with much, we give very basic workshops that also allow us to learn about the lives of the women. We talk a lot about domestic violence and the distribution of chores and work around the house. We also give workshops on the rights of women and try to improve the women´s self images and boost their confidence. In reality, many women do not have self-confidence and have never been told that they have value. In the beginning we work on really basic things, and as the community grows and develops we develop our workshops. Often the parochial or the women ask us to give certain workshops, like herbal medicines, environmental issues, and health in general. We also talk a lot about education and the importance of educating ourselves and our children. We also try to tell the women that changes begin with them, and they must pass confidence and feelings of value on to their daughters.

Then we have our Tajumulco scholarship program, which is funded by a single family in the United States through Catholic Relief Services. We have about 120 scholarship recipients in 4 communities in Tajumulco, and are about to add 2 additional communities. Families can only have one scholarship recipient, but there are a few families with two. I am not sure why they were allowed. Then the parents of the recipients have to study too, completing 6 primeria, which is essentially 5th grade or elementary school. If the parent has already graduated from 6 primeria, they have to bring us a copy of their graduation certificate. The way the parents study is slightly complicated. Some study through a radio program called IGER (which I am still confused about how IGER works) but each grade decides on a weekly meeting time and another nun, Sister Doma, works with the IGER students. Then there is a scholarship recipient assigned to each grade, and they also teach the classes.

Pastoral de la Mujer, here in San Marcos, tends to be more progressive than many organizations working for women´s rights, especially in the religious sector. I personally attribute this to two reasons. One, or coordinator and founder is an American who was raised in a more progressive culture and was educated in the States. I don´t mean to say that Americans are more able to be progressive, but there is something to be said for being raised in a culture where you are told you are valuable, and the educational system is just better in the States. Then the second, and more important reason, is the Bishop of San Marcos, Alvaro Ramizzini. Monteseñor is the most progressive Bishop in all of Guatemala, the most radical and outspoken, and fights the hardest for justice. Having his full support is a tremendous asset to our work throughout the diocese.

Thoughts on Accompaniment

First, I want to apologize to everyone for not staying in better contact. It is easy to get caught up in my life here and forget about the importance of informing everyone back home what I am doing. I do try to update my blog more often than I send out emails, but I am not always successful at that either. I have also tried sending postcards home, but I only know of one that found its destination (although I always receive my mail). I want to thank everyone for all your support this year, despite my lack of communication.

The past six months have been a whirlwind of activity. When I think back to September, when I arrived, it feels like ages ago, but when I think I have already been here for six months, I realize how quickly the time has passed. As most of you know, I have been working with Pastoral de la Mujer in the Catholic diocese here in San Marcos. Our main objective is simply to empower women and help them realize their value and potential as women, and as human beings. We stress the equality of men and women, in all aspects of life and work. We do this by working in every parish in the department of San Marcos (which is like a state) through workshops with the women. We also have an education program in order to instill values and self-confidence into young women, and men.

Sometimes, it is hard not to get frustrated and discouraged while doing a longer term mission. I often get overwhelmed with the needs I see everyday. The needs are so large, and Pastoral de la Mujer hardly makes a dent in fixing the problems facing women everyday. Then my impact in that chip is even smaller. I see countless other problems in the country, that I don´t even begin to touch. And I feel confused about my purpose, about my role here in Guatemala. Sometimes I fear I am becoming immune to the injustice and pain that surrounds me everyday. I no longer recognize that there is trash on the ground around me, I don´t think twice about stepping over someone passed out on the sidewalk. I am used to hearing stories of people with no jobs, no money, and little prospects. I came here because I wanted to understand the situation of Guatemalans better, I wanted to walk in solidarity with the marginalized, because that is what God calls us to do. Yet some days I can´t help but think I could be doing this better.

But doing this better is not the point of my year in accompaniment. The point is to allow myself to be here. I should allow myself to live completely in the moment everyday, enjoying the presence of others and the presence of God. In reality, all I can do is receive, which Henry Nouwen taught me in his book, Gracias. When I receive with an open heart, I can allow others to becomes aware of their gifts. The role of missionaries is not to ¨save¨ someone else, or build churches and schools, but to allow others to recognize the gifts that God has given them, and allow them to claim the good news of the gospel for themselves. A missionary must work with gratitude in order to receive the gifts of those we are serving, and allow them to feel apart of a community, not as an object of someone else´s generosity.

I also find I am more dependent here on others than I ever have been in my life. Even when I was little I was very independent, and that independence grown drastically over the years. Here I rely on people to to explain cultural and language differences to me in detail. I rely on people to be patient with my as I slowly speak Spanish, probably full of grammatical mistakes. I rely on the woman I live with to buy my food and pay my bills. I rely on people to take care of me, which is difficult and humbling at the same time.

While I sometimes feel that I am just hanging out here in Guatemala, I remember God sent each of us to live in this world, and God sent us here to live and work together in community. Sometimes I feel isolated and alone, but other times I feel surrounded by the love and generosity of both Guatemalans and those of you in the States.

So when I feel overwhelmed by my inability to make change, I have to remember that true giving is not in the giving of gifts, but the giving of self, which is immensely more difficult. As a very wise man told me a few days ago, I can not change Guatemala in a week, month, or even a year, but I can allow Guatemala to change me.

Paz y Amor,
Whitney